ALGAECAN creates a sewage treatment system with algae pioneer in Europe

The LIFE ALGAECAN project, led by CARTIF, is successfully testing a wastewater purification system from vegetable processing that uses microalgae, a pioneering technique in Europe.
This initiative is funded by the European Union through the LIFE
program, the Union’s financial instrument to promote demonstration
projects in the field of the environment.

On Wednesday, October 13, representatives of the European Commission visited the Huercasa plant in Sanchonuño (Segovia, Spain), where the current phase of the project is focused, to check the progress of the project.

The main objective of ALGAECAN is to reduce the environmental impact
and the economic cost of the production of vegetables by treating the
wastewater produced by this type of industries with heterotrophic
microalgae. Heterotrophic microalgae are those that require organic compounds for nutrition and grow in the absence of light.
They have great potential to remove organic carbon and various types of
nitrogen and phosphorus compounds from wastewater, which use it as a
source of carbon and energy without the need for sunlight.

The project started in October 2017 and is currently in the
demonstration phase of the purification technology at the Huercasa
facilities. It is expected that in February 2020 the demonstrator in
Sanchonuño will move to Slovenia, to the facilities of the VIPI company,
another of the ALGAECAN partners, to verify its operation with other
types of water and in other environmental conditions.

After the first tests carried out in recent months in Huercasa, a
purified water is being found that is within the legal limits of
discharge, in addition to completely eliminating the sludge that is
generated in the traditional process of purification of this type of
water in aerobic conditions, and also obtaining microalgae as a
byproduct that can be used as fertilizer or for animal feed.

The completion of the entire process in the absence of light allows
working with closed tanks, which significantly reduces the space
required to perform the purification, compared to other purification
processes in autotrophic conditions, where large areas of land are
needed for algae have the necessary light to perform water purification.

The plant prototype is also powered by renewable energy, specifically
with solar energy and biomass support, with the aim of minimizing the
carbon footprint and operating costs.

The ultimate goal of the project is to be able to replicate its results in other places.

The ALGAECAN project consortium is formed by the CARTIF Technology
Centre (as coordinator), HUERCASA (Spain), the University of Athens
(Greece), the AlgEn Technology Center (Slovenia) and VIPÎ (Slovenia).

Huercasa has been maintaining an active water policy for years, both
in terms of saving and purification. In terms of purification, Huercasa
has its own treatment plant in which it annually invests to practice
improvements and ensure that the discharges comply with all the
parameters established by law.

In addition, and for greater security, the company has been
collaborating for years with the municipal wastewater treatment plant of
Sanchonuño, a town where the main facilites of the company are located,
to which the factory spills will stop.

Work with us

Follow Us

Others:

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookies policyACCEPT

Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.